


andante con dolcezza

by inawasteland



Series: 25 Days of Rooster Teeth [11]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 16:44:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2780348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inawasteland/pseuds/inawasteland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As it turns out, Donut is rather adept at playing the flute, and Caboose is practically a virtuoso at the violin.  Together, they make some sweet, sweet music.</p>
            </blockquote>





	andante con dolcezza

Sometimes, the morale of red team had a slight tendency of dipping below what Donut considered to be the prime level. Sometimes, it was just that Donut got bored and needed something to fill his time. (It wasn’t as if they had an awful lot to do in a box canyon, after all.)

No matter how much Sarge tried to order Donut to stop, though, he could often be found playing the flute just to pass the time. He wasn’t a virtuoso by any means, but several years of practice and a little bit of luck that he happened to be good at simply playing by ears meant that he was fairly good. Good enough to hold a recognizable tune.

But, nobody appreciated his talents on red team. Which was why he played for Caboose when he got the chance. At least Caboose appreciated his ability to play.

“Buttery croissant, you play so beautifully!” Caboose complimented him one evening. Sarge could be heard in the distance, clearly working on some upgrades for Lopez. There was a lot of shouting and banging, at least.

“Oh, well you know what they say! Practice makes perfect. Besides, I’ve just always been good at fingering holes.” And of course if any of the rest of red team were there, they would have all groaned and yelled at Donut. But Caboose? He was too clueless to pick up on the innuendo, whether or not it was intentional.

Instead, Caboose just smiled and clapped after Donut finished playing another song. He liked Donut’s playing so much it reminded him that he used to be pretty good at playing an instrument himself. He even brought that instrument with him, it was just that...well Tucker wouldn’t be very happy if he played it and he did not like getting yelled at by Tucker. All the shouting and yelling was not fun and Caboose preferred fun over getting yelled at.

“Mr. Muffin Man, it was so nice to hear you play your flute. I would love to hear it again sometime!” And with that, Caboose parted ways, thinking intently of how he would be able to sneak some practice in of his own. Donut was right, practice did make perfect.

He waited for when Tucker was asleep before he snuck around the base and found his things that he had brought with him when he was assigned to Blood Gulch. Amongst them was a distinctly shaped box that looked as if it could house a rather large weapon. Inside was a violin, which looked just as pristine as the day Caboose had purchased it, before he entered this war.

Those were simpler times. Of course, that thought barely scratched the surface of Caboose’s brain, and he gently rosined up the bow and tuned each string carefully, using only his memory of what it _should_ sound like. When it came to music, for Caboose everything slipped into place. Music notes just made sense to him, and there was something pleasing a finely tuned violin, the way each string worked together to bring a resonating harmony.

He knew he couldn’t play at a proper volume while Tucker was asleep, although he tried to find a spot on the base that was far enough away from the bunks that it wouldn’t reach Tucker’s ears. But he played as quietly as he could. All he could remember was something of one of those composers that had been dead for hundreds of years. He couldn’t remember the name of the piece or the composer, but he knew the notes by heart. It flowed so naturally, it was almost as if he had just learned the notes yesterday.

When he was finished, he didn’t realize he had an audience. Expecting it to be Tucker, he apologized a hundred times as he started putting everything away, bracing himself for the scolding of a century.

“Oh hush, Caboose, it’s just me. You never mentioned you played violin!” To which Caboose’s face turned bright red because he generally didn’t tell anyone about it, not because he was bad, but because he was embarrassed. It wasn’t a very manly instrument, according to his peers. Now, a brass instrument, that was manly. But Caboose didn’t like those brass instruments. Too crass, and other than a piano, he couldn’t imagine another instrument that could create such beautiful harmonies without requiring a duet, the mingling of another instrument.

“Please don’t tell Tucker, he would be very mad and I do not like it when he gets mad! He yells and yelling is not very fun, no not at all.” But Donut shook his head in response.

“Oh you silly. I’m not going to tell Tucker, but I _will_ tell you to come back to red base for a duet.” 

Caboose’s eyes lit up. A duet?! He never had a duet, not with a flute at least. That sounded nice.

“I think I would like that, Captain Croissant.”

The next evening, if you listened closely, you just might be able to hear the faint intermingling of flute and violin. And, if you looked closely, you might even be able to see various reds and blues bobbing their heads to the music, or hear them humming along.


End file.
